Steve Williams and Helmut Novak, President and Vice President respectively from the Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards who spoke about their work on the two watersheds.

After years of living alone, Dawn Gibbons decided to get a dog for companionship. She found four-year-old Daphne through an animal rescue organization after a breeder had surrendered her. In July, 2022, Daphne crossed the rainbow bridge. Her story lives on in her series of children’s books.

Daphne’s passing opened space for another blind dog to have a life of joy and adventure, so Dawn adopted Maxwell who had his eyes surgically removed before being adopted. Dawn and Maxwell live and travel full-time in a campervan and will someday return to their home in Calgary, Alberta.

Syd Bosel, who at the age of 63 became a professional standup comedian.

Hi, I’m Syd, a stand-up comic and comedic storyteller originally hailing from Vancouver, now calling Comox, BC my home.

I regularly headline and tour with "Jokers Canada" and "Hot Flash Comedy." You might have also heard me on CBC’s “The Debaters”, "Just for Laughs" and "Laugh Out Loud." Over the years, I've had the pleasure of opening for amazing comedians like Maria Bamford, Debra DiGiovanni, Simon King, and Julie Kim. My album dropped Oct 1/24, “Thanks for Swinging By”.

My most recent…and coolest accolade, is coming in first in BC’s Yuk Yuk’s competition. I beat out 60 comics …. and I am the first woman to have won the Yuk Off!

In 2018, I was thrilled to place first and be voted Fan Favourite in the “BC’s Funniest New Female Comic” competition. The following year, I was a finalist in the “Great Canadian Yuk Off” and placed 2nd out of 65 comics in the “Funniest Person with a Day Job” competition. Most recently, in 2023, I was honored to be voted “Best of the Fest” at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival and received 4 Yeses on “Canada’s Got Talent”.

With a Canadian military father, Kim spent her childhood living in various parts of Canada and Europe. She and her husband, Mike Simpson, served twenty-year careers in the Canadian Forces. Retiring in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, they focussed on raising their two sons, Brian and Kyle, pursued second careers as professional ski patrollers on nearby Mount Washington and for a time owned a sea kayaking company based on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Since Mike’s death in 2007, seeking solace and following her nomadic spirit, Kim has indulged her passion for off-the-beaten-path international travel. When at home she walks with friends, writes and enjoys her unconventional garden.